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Any Clive Barker fans?

Stewart said:
The Inhuman Condition is one of the Books of Blood.
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Thanks for pointing that out. I didnt realize they were the same because I borrowed it under the title of 'The Inhuman Condition' from the library and I just recently got 'Books of Blood' Vols. 1&2 at a library sale and didn't realize that Volume 1 is the same book. Any idea why the title change?

Also I noticed that in the list of other books by Barker inside a few of his books, The Inhuman Condition is listed as a separate book from the Books of Blood.
 
I don't know if it was a British/American titling thing or a different publisher decided to release them under different names.
 
I enjoyed his early work, which was more horrific, but then he turned his mind more to fantasy, and I stopped reading. My favourite books by Barker were 'The Hellbound Heart' and 'Cabal'.
 
Somebody gave me Galilee awhile back and I really liked it. I haven't had a chance to read anything else by him yet but I saw a few in this thread I may add to my pile.
 
Years ago my older brother bought me Weaveworld for Christmas (I think because he wanted to read it!) nad since then I was hooked. I've read most of his books apart from The Books of Blood and Cold Heart Canyon. My favourite is still Weavworld.

Hated Cabal mind you. One of the few books where I think the film adaption is far superior.
 
Weaveworld is his only adult novel that I've not been able to finish - I think I get to the orchard of Lemuel Lo and fall asleep. Sacrament, I think, is his best novel thematically and autobiographically as he explores his own sexuality, finality, and the death of his friends.
 
I read the Thief of Always when I was little, and I really really loved it. I just got so caught up in the exciting world he brought to life. I have to go back and read it again, but I remember it being very, very alive with detail, from all the stuff the children got to the worlds the Thief conjured up. Any other Clive Barker books I'd love if I loved The Thief of Always?

Thanks.
 
I just started reading Thief Of Always...I loved the description of the old lady's face as looking like an old, rolled-up, ball of spiderwebs....I really dig Barkers drawing too...a nice touch to add some imagery, and all in simple black-and-white pen/sketch style.
 
The art in Abarat is even better (I've not actually read The Thief Of Always, or Abarat for that matter) as it is selected from a series of over 400 oil paintings Clive did to tell (and sell) the story before he even bothered writing it.
 
I'm reading a short story by him: Midnight Meat Train. Has anyone else read this?

"The Midnight Meat Train" mixes splatter-film techniques with a subtle incorporation of H.P. Lovecraft's "Old Ones" mythology. The result is a rather nasty satirical swipe at New York City's ongoing fear of its own subway system. Be warned, however, for we're about to get - uh - "meaty" here, and Barker has obviously studied a dog-eared copy of Gray's Anatomy.
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(-Paul M. Sammon)
 
Libra6Poe said:
I'm reading a short story by him: Midnight Meat Train. Has anyone else read this?
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Stewart said:
I've read all his work (including his plays) with the exception of Weaveworld (I could never get into it) and The Thief of Always. And the two Abarat books.
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That'll be a yes. ;)

Midnight Meat Train is a great story, especially it's place in the first of the Books Of Blood - after the introduction and the first story proper. It's an early indication of what to expect in the remainder of the fiction - something gory to begin with with a nice twist on old archetypes.
 
For me the novel is probably Sacrament, closely followed by Galilee and The Damnation Game.

Short story is definitely The Body Politic while other favourites are Jacqueline Ess: Her Will & Testament, Sex, Death & Starshine, and Scape-Goats. The Departed (also known as Hermione & The Moon) and Down, Satan! are also worth noting.

Of his plays I think I'll plump for Subtle Bodies and Colossus.

Of his movies, I'd say Hellraiser although Gods & Monsters was a relatively good film too although his contribution wasn't as director or writer in this instance.
 
I've not read his work before, however I picked up 'Weaveworld' from the library because I wanted to give him a go.
I have alot of great things about his writing and I look forward to getting stuck in ;)
 
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